Nature & Science
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Jan. 27 51 34 .23
Jan. 28 57 34 .66
Jan. 29 47 36 .00
Jan. 30 43 37 .00
Jan. 31 46 27 .00
Feb. 1 53 40 .00
Feb. 2 53 38 .00
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 45º F.
The commercial oyster season is underway, and the early reports from the Tisbury Great Pond in West Tisbury and Chilmark are good. Oyster fishermen in those towns are getting their daily limit, although the off-Island market is soft.
The retail price on Island fluctuates; this week wild oysters were selling for 50 cents apiece.
We ran away. The reason was the 15th annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville, Fla. Now, Flip likes to look for birds, but fishing is his real passion. So when we first heard about this festival 16 years ago, run by a female commercial fishing boat captain, I had no problem convincing Flip to attend.
The 52nd annual Martha’s Vineyard Christmas Bird Count was held on Monday, Jan. 2. The weather was less than ideal. While the temperatures were warm, between 40 and 52 degrees, a westerly wind was brutal, a steady 15-20 miles per hour with frequent gusts up to 35 miles per hour. We recorded 21,787 individuals of 120 species.
George de Mestral stuck with it.
For more than seven years, he worked on developing a material that “would rival the zipper in its ability to fasten.” Clearly, he was a stickler for perfection, though not more so than Mother Nature, which provided the inspiration for his invention.
Vineyarders are rightfully proud of the yearly abundance of oysters and scallops pulled from Island ponds, but little is made of what goes back into the water. Jessica Kanozak, creator of the Island’s nascent shell recovery program, hopes to change all that. After the first year of a pilot program on the Vineyard to return seashells to the sea, experts and community leaders met Saturday to discuss the program’s strengths, weaknesses and potential for expansion.
Almanac
A comprehensive guide to weather and tides on the Island.
Vineyard Gardener
I guess this past week weather-wise is called a January thaw. We did not really experience it the last several years as December was unseasonably warm.
Farm & Field
Beige and brown and tan and black, with horns spiraled or semicircular or in undulating waves, a legion of goats marched up the hill toward us, bleating in anticipation of fresh grass and leaves.